216 BEGINS CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN PLANTS 



got the copper utensil that I described at the meeting of the Royal 

 Society in Montreal that summer. 



Our journey down the railway is indescribable, as we were 

 tormented by flies, and our path was not strewn with roses. My 

 son will remember that, at one cutting we came to, the men were 

 just leaving it on account of a blast that was to go off at once 

 and they ran to a shanty prepared for the occasion. My son 

 made it, but I was caught on the plank crossing the little stream 

 to get to it. I happened to see the explosion and there were a 

 great many stones thrown into the air and I watched to see if 

 they came my way, but, by good luck, none came near me. The 

 shanty, however, received a few knocks, but they had a double 

 row of ties on it, so that nobody would be harmed. We had a 

 number of adventures, but I will pass on till we reached the camp 

 where the "tote" road went down to Michipicoten. 



I sat in the camp of Mr. Kilpatrick and he complained to me 

 that the whisky pedlars were so bad that they had disorganized 

 the whole work on the line. I instantly said that I was a Magis- 

 trate myself, but that I had been appointed by Mr. Mowat for 

 the County of Hastings. Of course, I knew I had no jurisdiction 

 there, but being a good temperance advocate, I was easily pressed 

 and swore in two special constables who immediately went to 

 work and confiscated all the whisky in the camp and around it, 

 and took the owners prisoners. The next day, my son and I 

 started for Michipicoten, which was fifty miles distant. We went 

 down the "tote" road and, late in the afternoon, came upon what 

 was called the Mormon Camp. This camp was an outfit who 

 were working on the Canadian Pacific Railway. My son was a 

 tall lanky lad and had a leather belt around him and sheath-knife 

 hanging in it and a half drunk teamster began to chaff him about 

 his appearance and I said: "Let the boy alone, and if you have 

 anything to say, say it to me." The man immediately pulled 

 out a pistol and swore he would blow my brains out and I cer- 

 tainly thought he was about to do so, but I said that it was a 

 shame for him to be talking to the boy as he did and that I had 

 no fears of his doing anything to me. After some more talk, my 

 son and I walked on and that evening reached Michipicoten. 



